U.S. distillers jump into the amaro game

The love of Italian amaro spreads widely enough to inspire American distillers to create their own versions.

The love of Italian amaro spreads widely enough to inspire American distillers to create their own versions. (Bill Hogan, Chicago Tribune)

Lisa FuttermanChicago Tribune

4 American-made artisan amari you'll want to try.

The French have Suze, the Germans have Jagermeister, the Swiss have Appenzeller and the Italians have Fernet Branca. With the growing popularity stateside of amari, the bitter liqueurs so loved as digestivi in Europe, it was only a matter of time before artisan distillers in the United States got into the bitter liqueur game. Amari are trending big in cocktail bars and restaurants — mixed with club soda or cola as an appetite-lifting apertif, jiggered into classic cocktails to boost the bitter notes, or served neat after dinner. Here are four terrific versions of domestically produced amari to try.

Fernet Leopold Highland Amaro

First released by the Denver distillery in 2012, Fernet Leopold is the granddaddy of the bunch. Distinctly spearminty (like Fernet Branca's cousin, Brancamenta) and licorice-tinged with a sweet finish, the liqueur is smooth, complex and less bitter/more approachable than most. It would be perfect sipped after a hefty meal as amari are meant to, thanks to their palate-cleansing nature and to the infused herbs and roots that aid digestion.

Don Ciccio & Figli Amaro delle Sirene

Hailing from Washington, D.C., this delicate yet definitely bitter entry is handmade from natural ingredients (cinchona, cassia and chicory among them) and neutral grain spirits by former sommelier and third generation distiller Francesco Amodeo. With notes of eucalyptus and cedar balanced by a richly sweet coffee finish, the recipe is based on his family's Amalfi Coast roots. Amodeo recommends sipping it simply garnished with orange peel, or subbing it for Campari in classic cocktails like a negroni or a boulevardier.

Letherbee Fernet

Chicago distillers Brenton Engel and Nathan Ozug are both former bartenders, and their hearty amaro is a barman's amaro — deeply bitter and great for mixing. Packed with traditional botanicals including wormwood, mugwort, gentian and rhubarb root, plus a large measure of saffron — a lesser-known but essential ingredient in the Italian version of fernet that adds color and flavor notes to the mix.

CH Amaro

Last fall, a former bar manager at Chicago's hip high-volume spot the Dawson told CH head distiller Tremaine Atkinson, "If you make an amaro, we'll sell a ton of it." Thus challenged, Atkinson set to work, and CH Distillery released its richly flavored version last spring. Atkinson infuses neutral grain spirits with bittering agents like grapefruit peel and gentian, plus natural flavorings like cocoa nibs, cinnamon and anise, then adds honey, caramel color and CH rum. "I wanted our amaro to be not too sweet with a solid bitter backbone," says Atkinson, who, like Ozug, experimented by blending individual tinctures to build the flavor profile he desired.